A couple of Stilt Sandpipers from late July. I was surprised to look up from reviewing my images on the back of my camera to see these two. Just as surprised awhile later to look up and see they were gone. I don't get to view this species often and have never seen two adults at the same time in what may be close to full breeding plumage.
I have just started taking photos of Wood Ducks again in late Summer and will probably continue into Fall if the opportunity presents itself. So far most birds have not moulted back into full plumage so I still have these shots from last Spring to show for now.
I had to go back to the end of July for this one. The fog rolled in later in the day which ended a short afternoon of photography. I did manage a few photos before that happened including this one.
A couple of young plovers feeding as the sun was setting. These shots are from August 8.
A couple of wide angle environmental shots from the same location looking in opposite directions. There are a few shorebirds to be found in both, Semipalmated Plovers being the most obvious.
I spent a few evenings in early Summer trying to get flight shots of male Red-winged Blackbirds. These are some of the better attempts.
One from yesterday. There were lots of turnstones on the beach, several sanderlings and three juvenile Piping Plovers among a few other species. Very few birds in the marsh which I found surprising. This will be my first shorebird photo of this year although not the last. One of the many Ruddy Turnstones in the area in what is a typical setting for these birds.
I believe this is the same bird as the one silhouetted in the sun. Very close to the location of that shot and a bird that has been very visible most times I've been there as it likely was feeding young ones in the vicinity.
One from May of this year. I haven't seen or heard many since that time which is odd given how ubiquitous and vocal they can be.
This time the sun gets the spotlight, pardon the pun. I've been trying to get a shot like this for awhile. This evening the conditions were right and I had a cooperative bird. Not only did it give me a profile it decided to sing (or chirp) as well. In case you're wondering it is a male Common Yellowthroat.
In this case it's the moon, a later post will feature that other celestial body. I think the bird species is obvious but for those who can't identify the bird it is a Cedar Waxwing. You might recognize the tree in one of the photos from the earlier kingbird post. The waxwing is sitting in the exact same spot.
I've already featured the female in another post. Time to feature the male, one of several pairs that are nesting in my area. There will be more pictures of this species in subsequent posts.
There had been one or more kingbirds hanging around the local pond for the last month or so. This bird was acting like it was defending it's territory so hopefully they were nesting in the area although I haven't seen it for a week or more.
I'm not sure if this is the same bird in all three images, these were all taken the same day at the same location but at two different times, a few hours apart. My guess is it's the same bird although there were at least 2 drakes in the area at the time.
One of my favorite shots from my Spring sessions of photographing Ring-necked Ducks.
Another species I don't get to photograph that often pretty much for the same reason as the birds in the last post. This was the only individual that ventured within range of my camera this past Winter so I feel fortunate to have these images.
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Taken the same day as the previous post, one of my better outings during the Winter. There didn't seem to be many adult males in full breeding plumage at the time, mostly juvenile males and females. I was still happy to get these shots, this species tends to favour more open ocean and greater expanses of water than what existed at this location at the time.
The title suggests this will probably be the theme of the blog for awhile until I clear my backlog of duck photos. These images were taken on a cold day in mid February as the background will indicate.
I haven't seen many Magnolia Warblers this Spring. This was one I was lucky enough to get an image of. Likely a second year male, he still doesn't have all the colours of the adult.
There had been a couple of drake Green-winged Teal hanging out in the local pond in late Spring. Along with the males, at least one female which is still hanging around. She is acting like she has a few young ones hanging out nearby although I haven't seen them. That would mean there has been at least 3 different duck species raising young in the pond this year.
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I have featured the drake Ring-necks in a post or two. Here is the female in her first showing this year, at least in any detail.
I have spent several days recently photographing Red-winged Blackbirds. They have moved into my neighborhood in the last couple of years so I have lots of opportunities to do so without going very far. In this case it is the female or females of several pairs that are nesting nearby.
My last day of doing Winter waterfowl photography although not the last pictures I'll be posting from this past Winter. I got up extra early to be at the site before sunrise only to be disappointed that the area was fogged in. Temperatures didn't get below freezing during the night even though it was during the last few days of February. Eventually the fog burned off but these images were taken before that happened. There are 3 species of Mergansers here and both male and female Hooded mergansers, possibly both juveniles. Can you tell the difference? Female Common Merganser and Red-breasted are featured as well.
